2007 | DEBRIS, INTERACTIVE DIGITAL VIDEO INSTALLATION, CREATED WITH SAMUEL LÓPEZ DE VICTORIA | PERSONAL WORK

Emerging Talent No. 4: TM Sisters
The TM Sisters, Tasha López De Victoria and Monica López De Victoria, are actually sisters. They represent a new generation of Miami artists. “We are influenced a lot by the city we live in and the circles we have grown up in,” says Monica. “The colors here are very vibrant and saturated. We have always gone to concerts and shows and have enjoyed imagining what happens in the spaces that happen in the dark, moist Miami air.”

The TM Sisters create ’zines; fl at collages made of holographic sticker paper, photocopies, paint and photos; digital videos and animations; interactive video installations with floor controllers; live digital video performances; video mixing at concerts; and what they refer to as “social experiments.” Their work is a kaleidoscope of sight and sound. “We really like working in different types of art mediums, because we can jump around from one idea to another, depending on what is best for the concept,” explains Tasha.

These groundbreaking efforts have garnered critical acclaim in contemporary art circles. ARTnews magazine says, “The TM Sisters work in the new territory where video games meet video art.” Taking cues from the video games they played as children, the duo mixes music, art, technology and exuberant performance into unforgettable retro-futuristic neo-pop visions. Their pieces often involve the sisters interacting with large, colorful digital landscapes, sometimes running, “flying” or dancing to the rhythms of ’80s-sounding pop music, suggesting stories that are part serious, part spoof. The TM Sisters’ site-specific museum and gallery installations, videos and live performances have been shown in numerous countries around the world, including the Serpentine Gallery in London, the 2nd Biennale of Contemporary Art in Moscow and PERFORMA 07 in New York. Their work was part of the recent group show, Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium. The show’s curator, Hans Ulrich Obrist, notes, “Before the digital age, what they do would have been unthinkable.”

Collaboration—with each other, other artists and performers, sometimes including their brother Samuel—is the essence of their artwork. This often extends to the viewer, who is welcomed to participate in the work and not just passively view it. “We love interactive and engaging work,” Monica notes. “People’s energy and insight are beautiful to collaborate with.”

“The TM Sisters’ work is full of energy,” says Maggy Cuesta, dean of Visual Arts at the New World School of The Arts, where Tasha received her BFA. Monica attended Florida International University, where she earned her BFA. Although they studied electronic media along with art, photography and video, the TM Sisters are continuing to learn more about interactive technology. “We are training in the field of electronic circuitry and experimental video/computer technology,” says Monica. “Also, we have a performance that we are gearing up for that will be our largest scale one yet!”
www.tmsisters.com